This invention relates to a game of chance, and in particular, a game played on a board marked with numbers to be matched to a set of drawn numbers.
In a traditional bingo game, players each have a game board with 24 numbers arranged in a 5.times.5 array of spaces with a center "free" space. The numbers 1 through 75 are grouped with the letters B, I, N, G and O such that the numbers 1 through 15 are in the "B" group, the numbers 16 through 30 are in the "I" group, etc. A game officiant randomly selects numbers from the set of numbers 1 through 75 and announces them to the players. The players cover the spaces on their game boards corresponding to the called numbers with tokens, e.g., chips. A player wins the game, e.g., when he or she has covered five spaces in a row, either horizontally, vertically or diagonally.
Bingo is typically played as a game of chance in a betting environment. Players may place wagers, e.g., by purchasing game boards for a particular game or series of games. The payoff to the winner of a bingo game may be determined, e.g., as a fraction of the total amount of money paid by all players to purchase their game boards.
Although bingo is a simple game to play, it is considered a relatively slow game, since many numbers from the set of numbers 1 through 75 must be chosen before a winner is determined.